Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini. - I am happy because my mathematics grade has increased a little this month.

The first saya is the subject pronoun: Saya gembira = I am happy.
The second saya is a possessive pronoun: gred matematik saya = my math grade (literally: grade math I).

Malay usually puts the possessor after the thing possessed, so:

gred matematik saya = my math grade
rumah saya = my house
buku saya = my book

So you’re not really “repeating” the same word by mistake; you’re using saya in two different roles, which is normal and natural in Malay.

Why is it gred matematik saya and not saya gred matematik, like in English my math grade?

In English, possessive pronouns usually come before the noun (my house, their teacher).

In Malay, the usual pattern is:

[thing] + [owner]

So:

gred matematik saya = my math grade
guru mereka = their teacher
telefon kamu = your phone

If you said saya gred matematik, it would sound very wrong and confusing to a Malay speaker. The normal order for possession is always noun → possessor.

What exactly does kerana mean here, and how is it used?

Kerana means because and introduces a reason or cause.

In this sentence:

Saya gembira = I am happy
kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini = because my math grade went up a bit this month

So the structure is:

[Result] + kerana + [Reason]
Saya gembira kerana … = I am happy because …

Common near-synonyms:

kerana – neutral, slightly formal
sebab – common in speech, slightly more casual
oleh kerana – more formal

You could also say:

Saya gembira sebab gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini. (more casual)

Is gembira a verb like “to be happy”, or is it an adjective? There is no am in the sentence.

Gembira is an adjective meaning happy.

Malay normally does not use a separate verb like am / is / are between the subject and an adjective. The pattern is:

[Subject] + [Adjective]

So:

Saya gembira. = I am happy.
Dia sedih. = He/She is sad.
Mereka letih. = They are tired.

There is no word corresponding to English am / is / are here. The adjective gembira itself functions as the predicate.

How do we know the time or tense in this sentence? There’s no past or present tense marker.

Malay doesn’t change verb forms for tense like English does (go / went / gone).
Instead, it usually relies on:

Time expressions, e.g.
- bulan ini = this month
- semalam = yesterday
- tadi = earlier / a short while ago
- esok = tomorrow
Optional aspect markers like:
- sudah / telah – already (past/completed)
- sedang – in the middle of doing (progressive)
- akan – will (future)

In your sentence:

bulan ini = this month

From context, gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini is understood as my math grade has gone up a bit this month. If you want to make the completion more explicit, you could say:

… gred matematik saya sudah naik sedikit bulan ini.
… gred matematik saya telah naik sedikit bulan ini.

What does naik mean in this context? Is it literally “go up”?

Yes. Naik literally means to go up / to rise / to increase. It is very flexible. Some common uses:

naik bas – get on a bus
naik lif – go up in the elevator
harga minyak naik – fuel prices go up
berat badan saya naik – my body weight increases

In this sentence:

gred matematik saya naik = my math grade goes up / has improved.

To make it explicitly transitive (“to raise something”), Malay usually adds a prefix:

menaikkan gred – to raise a grade
menaikkan harga – to raise the price

What’s the nuance of sedikit here? Could I say sikit instead?

Sedikit means a little / a bit / slightly.

In the sentence:

naik sedikit = went up a little / improved a bit

You often hear sikit in everyday speech; it is an informal, shortened form of sedikit:

naik sikit – spoken, casual
naik sedikit – neutral, slightly more formal

Both are correct; the choice is mostly about formality and tone, not grammar.
You cannot move sedikit in just any position though; it normally comes after the verb/adjective it modifies:

naik sedikit (correct)
sedikit naik (possible but less common; can have slightly different focus)

Can bulan ini go at the beginning of the sentence instead of the end?

Yes. Time phrases in Malay are quite flexible. You can say:

Saya gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini.
Bulan ini, saya gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit.

Both are grammatical. Putting bulan ini at the beginning can slightly emphasize this month as the topic.

Common positions for time expressions:

At the beginning: Semalam saya pergi ke sekolah.
After the verb phrase: Saya pergi ke sekolah semalam.

Both patterns are very common.

Is it okay to drop the first Saya and just say Gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini?

Yes, in informal speech or writing, Malay speakers often drop the subject pronoun when it’s obvious from context. So:

Gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini.

would be understood as (I’m) happy because my math grade went up a bit this month.

However:

In formal writing (essays, exams, official documents), it’s better to keep Saya.
In casual conversation, dropping Saya is very natural, especially if you are already talking about yourself.

Is there any difference between kerana and sebab in this kind of sentence?

Meaning-wise, in this sentence there is no real difference:

Saya gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini.
Saya gembira sebab gred matematik saya naik sedikit bulan ini.

Both mean I am happy because my math grade went up a bit this month.

The main difference is:

kerana – neutral, slightly more formal, common in writing
sebab – very common in speech, slightly more casual

For learners, it’s safe to use kerana in writing and sebab in conversation.

Could I use gembira dengan instead of gembira kerana? For example: Saya gembira dengan gred matematik saya.

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

gembira kerana … focuses on the reason:
- Saya gembira kerana gred matematik saya naik sedikit.
  = I am happy because my math grade went up a bit.
gembira dengan … means happy with something (satisfied with it as a thing):
- Saya gembira dengan gred matematik saya.
  = I am happy with my math grade (as it is).

Your original sentence is about a change (the grade went up), so kerana fits better.
To combine both ideas:

Saya gembira dengan gred matematik saya, kerana gred saya naik sedikit bulan ini.

Why is matematik not capitalized here? In English “Math/Mathematics” can sometimes be capitalized.

In Malay, school subjects are usually not capitalized, unless they are derived from proper nouns (like names of languages or religions).

So:

matematik – mathematics
sains – science
sejarah – history

But:

Bahasa Melayu – the Malay language (capital letter because Melayu = Malay, a proper noun)
Bahasa Inggeris – English language
Pendidikan Islam – Islamic Education

So gred matematik saya is correctly written with matematik in lowercase.

Could I say gred matematik saya meningkat sedikit instead of naik sedikit? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and it sounds a bit more formal or academic.

naik – very common, everyday word for “go up / rise / increase”.
meningkat – a bit more formal; often used for performance, quality, level, etc.

Nuance:

gred matematik saya naik sedikit – neutral, everyday, natural in speech.
gred matematik saya meningkat sedikit – slightly more formal, common in written reports, school reports, news.

Both are correct and mean roughly the same thing: my math grade has improved a bit.

How would this sentence sound in very casual spoken Malay?

A natural, casual version might look like:

Saya seronok sebab markah Matematik saya naik sikit bulan ni.

Changes:

gembira → seronok (more colloquial “happy / excited / having fun”)
kerana → sebab (more casual “because”)
gred → markah (often used for “marks” in school)
sedikit → sikit (informal form)
bulan ini → bulan ni (spoken reduction)

Your original sentence is perfectly good standard Malay; the casual version just shows what you might hear in everyday conversation.